2012 July 16th

Serving as a spokesperson for FaceUp Gaming is Tom McEvoy, who won the 1983 World Series of Poker Main Event, and has been nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame three years running. In an exclusive interview, McEvoy stated: “FaceUp Gaming is a subscription site and is perfectly legal. You get to play a lot of tournaments. It’s all No Limit Hold’em tournaments right now. There are no cash games or anything, but we’re hoping at some point to have legalized internet poker where people can play cash games.

It’s a great bargain for players because for $24.95 per month, they have a chance at big cash prizes, Aruba trips, cruises, and things of that nature. It’s a huge overlay because you don’t have to face 2,000 players like you have to on a few of the other sites. Our biggest tournament has been in the 300s. Now is the perfect time for people to sign up.”

It’s a common theme among poker players to say one would prefer to play against a good player rather than a bad player. Picture a meme image with a poker champion uncomfortably seated next to a fish. On the bottom, in typical bold lettering, reads, “Fish are less predictable, and sometimes, harder to catch.” In many ways, it makes sense for some players to want to avoid playing against unpredictable players. Maybe it’s just a general fear all people possess that creates this trend at the tables. Fear of the unknown is a powerful force, for most.

When the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship first debuted in 2006, most poker purists rejoiced. Finally, there was a comprehensive event that weighed multiple forms of poker on a more equitable scale -- rather than just the relatively narrow prism of No-Limit Hold’em.

Sure. No-Limit Hold’em remains the so-called “Cadillac” of poker games. It would be ludicrous to suggest that the Main Event Championship would be anything but this extraordinarily popular form of poker that has been the staple of the world’s championship, since 1970.

That said, a conversation took place following the conclusion of one of the most recent WSOP gold bracelet events which bears repeating. Two-time gold bracelet champion David “Bakes” Baker was asked after his victory if he thought H.O.R.S.E. was the real test of best all-around poker skill.

by A. C. Clark
Plenty of poker is available in and around the Northwest. With Lucky Chance’s Battle of the Bay in the books, the best jackpots in the Bay Area are still Lucky Chance’s daily tournaments: $10k first place guarantee no-limit hold’em on Sundays, $3500 first place guarantees on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and $6k on Tuesdays through the month of July. Another California attraction is Bay 101, and their Bay 101 Open in August for eight consecutive days, the 20th- 27th.

The World Poker Tour is coming to the wildly popular Parx Casino in Bensalem, PA, and the main event will be televised. I say “popular” because there are as many as 1000 players entering this poker room (managed with precision, by Ari Mizrachi) on a daily basis! The WPT’s on-air talent: Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten, and Kimberly Lansing, will be giving viewers hand-by-hand action updates from the final table. Be a part of this high-stakes poker event by playing August 10-15th. The main event has a $3,500 buy in, including a re-entry on Day 1B. Other events include: Satellite’s, Double Green Chip Bounty, Purple Chip Bounty, NL hold’em Deep Stack’s with re-entry’s, Limit Omaha, you name it. This WPT event at Parx Casino will be one of the biggest and best of this tour. Parx Poker is one of the top 5 highest revenue-generating rooms in the entire country.

Since the 1970s, enterprising men and women in the poker industry have sought to attract women into the fold (as players and industry professionals), but even the World Series of Poker has shown lackluster success in attracting more than a fractionally increased percentage of women into major competition.

WSOP Director Ty Stewart says, “We all need to work toward the goal of doing better to move the needle way up on the participation of women at the WSOP.” Stewart is on the prowl for exciting suggestions from industry leaders who share this goal. Additionally, other WSOP personnel say they are mindful of the need to avoid the appearance of endorsement or partnership with organizations or individuals who may have more self-serving purposes. Beyond the world of women players are women professionals in the poker industry; many have started their management careers in a casino card room, but have seen few opportunities to use their skills in their employers’ broader operations.

Nevada’s first licensees connected to the state’s upcoming intrastate online-poker offerings were issued in late June to in-state slot machine manufacturers, Bally Technologies, and International Game Technology (IGT). Both Bally and IGT have positioned themselves to provide infrastructure for online sites, and will partner with existing brick-and-mortar casinos. Bally has already inked a deal with the Golden Nugget, and ShuffleMaster, while IGT previously acquired the Euro-facing Entraction Network, giving the company a ready-made poker platform.